Pest Library
Hampton Roads Pest Identification Library
Specimen photography, month-by-month activity charts and interactive ID checklists for every pest that works Hampton Roads construction. The same brown insect on a Norfolk baseboard can mean a sanitation issue, a sewer defect, or a saturated crawl space — and each one gets a different answer.
Wood-destroying organisms
The category that costs the most and hides the longest. In coastal Virginia almost all of it traces back to moisture.
Peaks AprEastern Subterranean Termite
Reticulitermes flavipes
The default termite threat in every Hampton Roads city.
Peaks JunFormosan Subterranean Termite
Coptotermes formosanus
Larger, faster colonies — confirmed in Norfolk and a genuine regional concern.
Peaks MayPowderpost Beetle
Lyctidae and Anobiidae
Fine flour-like frass under pinholes in crawl space framing and hardwood.
Peaks JunOld House Borer
Hylotrupes bajulus
Audible chewing in softwood framing, with oval exit holes.
Peaks JunCarpenter Ant
Camponotus spp.
Large black ants excavating galleries in wood that is already wet.
Peaks MayCarpenter Bee
Xylocopa virginica
Perfectly round half-inch holes in fascia, decks, and railings.
Peaks JulWood-Decay Fungus
Not an insect, but the single biggest cause of structural loss under coastal houses.
Cockroaches
German roaches are an indoor harborage problem. American and oriental roaches are almost always a crawl space, sewer, or moisture problem.
Peaks JulGerman Cockroach
Blattella germanica
The indoor breeding roach — the one that becomes an infestation fast.
Peaks JulAmerican Cockroach
Periplaneta americana
The large reddish-brown roach coming up out of drains and crawl spaces.
Peaks JulOriental Cockroach
Blatta orientalis
Glossy near-black roach — a direct indicator of crawl space moisture.
Ants
Species identification sets the bait. The wrong product can split a colony instead of killing it.
Peaks JunOdorous House Ant
Tapinoma sessile
The most common trailing ant in regional kitchens.
Peaks JunArgentine Ant
Linepithema humile
Supercolonies with massive trails and multiple queens.
Peaks MayPavement Ant
Tetramorium immigrans
Small dark ants pushing soil up through driveway and slab cracks.
Peaks JunRed Imported Fire Ant
Solenopsis invicta
Aggressive stinging mounds pushing north into the region.
Rodents & wildlife
Exclusion first. Trapping without sealing the entry is a subscription, not a solution.
Peaks NovNorway Rat
Rattus norvegicus
Burrowing rat of dense older neighborhoods, alleys, and waterfronts.
Peaks NovRoof Rat
Rattus rattus
Climbing rat that nests in attics and travels overhead lines and limbs.
Peaks NovHouse Mouse
Mus musculus
Fits through a gap the width of a pencil, breeds year-round indoors.
Peaks MarSquirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
Daytime attic noise, chewed soffit, and gnawed wiring.
Peaks AprRaccoon
Heavy nighttime attic activity and torn roofline material.
Peaks JunBat
Protected species — exclusion is timing-sensitive and must be done correctly.
Moisture-driven invaders
The crawl space indicator species. When these show up indoors, humidity under the house is already out of range.
Peaks JulCamel Cricket
Diestrammena asynamora
The signature Hampton Roads crawl space insect.
Peaks AugSpringtail
Collembola
Tiny jumping specks appearing in bathrooms and along damp baseboards.
Peaks JulSilverfish
Lepisma saccharina
Fast, teardrop-shaped, and drawn to damp paper and starch.
Peaks JulHouse Centipede
Scutigera coleoptrata
A predator — its presence means there is other prey in the structure.
Biting & stinging
Standing water, tidal marsh, and wooded lot lines drive most of the seasonal load here.
Peaks JulAsian Tiger Mosquito
Aedes albopictus
Aggressive daytime biter that breeds in containers, not marsh.
Peaks JulSalt Marsh Mosquito
Aedes sollicitans
Flies in from tidal marsh in huge broods after high tides and rain.
Peaks MayBlacklegged (Deer) Tick
Ixodes scapularis
The Lyme disease vector, active in leaf litter and wooded edges.
Peaks SepYellowjacket
Vespula spp.
Ground and void nests that turn aggressive in late summer.
Peaks AugPaper Wasp
Polistes spp.
Open umbrella nests under eaves, rails, and grill covers.
Peaks JulBed Bug
Cimex lectularius
Introduced by travel and used furniture — never by sanitation.
Peaks JulCat Flea
Ctenocephalides felis
Most of the population is eggs and larvae in carpet, not adults on the pet.
Occasional invaders
Seasonal migrations into the structure, usually through the same handful of gaps.
Peaks OctBrown Marmorated Stink Bug
Halyomorpha halys
Fall migration into attics, window frames, and wall voids.
Peaks OctAsian Lady Beetle
Harmonia axyridis
Overwinters in wall voids by the hundreds and stains what it lands on.
Peaks SepMillipede
Mass movement indoors after heavy rain, then dies on the floor.
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